Quote Originally Posted by TitoFan View Post
Good thread.

Well... emboldened by Primo's list with Carnera at #1 (proving there are no wrong choices here) ... I hereby submit my own list (complete with inaccuracies and biases)


1. Ali (slam dunk choice)
2. Louis (ditto)
3. Lewis (In his peak as dominant as any fighter out there. Avenged both of his knockout losses.)
4. Foreman (A beast. Beat many fighters by fear alone. Knocked out some impressive opponents. Came back years later to regain the title.)
5. Wlad (He could be boring as hell. But like Foreman, beat many fighters by fear alone. After Louis, the longest reign as defending champion.)
6. Frazier (Only lost to the very best: Ali and Foreman. But he beat Ali in The Fight of the Century in 1971.)
7. Marciano (Didn't see him on any lists, but deserves a spot. Something to be said for retiring undefeated.)
8. Usyk (Tough to ignore. He's beaten the best the division has to offer, which admittedly isn't a golden era of heavyweight boxing.)
9. Tyson (Another beast. Brought many fans to boxing with his style. At his peak could arguably beat anybody.)
10. Holmes (YEP... I'm biased. Never liked this guy cause he talks way too much. First class whiner. Was lucky to come in as Ali was wasting away as a fighter. He's lucky I put him in at #10.)

I've gone back over this list, and frankly wouldn't change it much. I probably should've made space for someone as important in his time as Jack Johnson. But I suffer from the same modern-day bias most of us do.

But I'll revisit it from the standpoint of other considerations.

Ali, like I said is a slam dunk choice. Sure, he was a showman and referred to himself as "The Greatest." But he invariable backed it up, beating the best of the best throughout a long period of time.
Louis was from a previous time, when fighters didn't whine, or claim to be the best ever. He let others do the talking for him.
Lewis was mild-mannered to a fault. But at his peak, he was dominant. PLUS... he avenged his two knockout losses big time (with stoppages). His knockout of Rahman was epic.
Foreman just went about his business. A wrecking ball who finally got derailed by Ali. But he came back years later and reclaimed the HW title. He was also mild-mannered and didn't talk himself up.
Wlad just went about his business as well. He never talked about himself as being the greatest.
Frazier was an overachiever for his size... and just went about his business as well. He beat Ali in the Fight of the Century, thus earning his way onto the list.
Marciano was another old-schooler. Retired undefeated, which is quite the feat.
Usyk is not a talker either. He lets the likes of Tyson Fury do all the blabbing. Then he just beats him (twice).
Mike Tyson was a man of few words. He just intimidated and beat the hell out of opponents.


Which brings me to Larry Holmes.

First he whines because people love Ali more than him. Then he whines because he's a greedy, bitter little bastard. Then he whines because people love Gerry Cooney more 'cause he's white. Then he whines because he's just a bitchy little whiner.
Nowadays he still pushes the narrative of him being greater than "X" and greater than "Y."
A TOTALLY unlikable character, who I always rooted against.

At 38 years old... old back in the 1950's, but perfectly acceptable for HW's in modern times... he got CRUSHED by Mike Tyson (one of my fav fights ever). Four years later, he still had enough gas in the tank and enough skills to defeat an undefeated Ray Mercer. Thus (at least in my mind) proving that he wasn't over-the-hill at all when he fought Tyson.

Hmm... in fact... about the only change I would make to my top ten is putting Jack Johnson in Larry's place.